In truth, the children in the classroom didn't really understand what it meant to be a direct disciple of the Third. Their astonishment came purely from hearing the name "Third Hokage."
The Hokage was the greatest ninja in the village. Everyone in Konoha, whether ninja or civilian, adult or child, held him in immense reverence.
Only Minato and Mikoto understood that the Third's direct disciples were also among the strongest shinobi in Konoha—true pillars of the village. Even the head of the Uchiha clan would show them great respect.
For someone of that caliber to come personally to the Ninja Academy and teach students who weren't even full-fledged ninja yet could only be described as a rare privilege.
Although he probably wouldn't teach any advanced Ninjutsu today, even sharing some insights from his experience as a ninja would prove invaluable to these kids.
Of course, it still depended on whether they could truly absorb and understand what he taught.
Only Kushina briefly flashed a hint of dislike in her eyes upon hearing the name "Third Hokage," though it vanished almost instantly.
Seeing the excitement rapidly building up in the class, Moto Kouda smiled slightly before saying, "Everyone go line up at the training ground. The special instructor is about to arrive."
At the Ninja Academy training field, all the new students lined up in rows, including Yan Uchiha—the same student who had spoken with Minato in the hallway earlier.
He was about the same height as Minato—slightly taller than most their age. Yet where Yan stood at the front, surrounded by a cluster of admirers, Minato remained quietly at the very back.
Behind Yan, a few classmates could barely peek through the small gaps between heads to see what was happening on the training field.
This earned a few disapproving glances, mostly from boys, since nearly all of Yan's admirers were girls from various classes.
Born into a prestigious family, top of the academic rankings, and good-looking—all of this contributed to Yan's popularity within the school.
There were plenty of girls interested in getting close to Minato too. In fact, he might've even been a little better looking than Yan—just without the noble pedigree. And in terms of school performance, Minato's marks were only ever decent at best.
Of course, this was only after deliberately holding himself back.
Still, rumors had spread across the academy after witnessing how he defeated Yu Akasaka in a single move during an intense moment of fury—who was truly the number one student: Namikaze Minato or Yan Uchiha?
Yan couldn't help but glance repeatedly toward Minato, but the latter completely ignored such stares.
Minato didn't feel hatred toward Yan, but neither did he hold any particular fondness for him.
Judging by how Yan disregarded his classmates' feelings, he must typically behave arrogantly in class.
It even seemed like his own homeroom teacher had trouble keeping him in line because of his Uchiha status.
Kouda Moto and several other teachers stood off to one side, waiting with extreme politeness.
"Hey there, sorry I kept you all waiting!"
In the training field, a slightly amused voice suddenly rang out. Everyone turned to see an unusually tall figure standing there with a playful grin on his face.
No one had noticed when he had appeared.
"How fast!"
Minato, who was at the back row, narrowed his eyes. Years of rigorous training had given him sharper eyesight than most people. Even then, he had barely managed to catch a faint glimpse of an afterimage.
At such a ghostly speed, on the battlefield, weaker ninja might not even get a clear look at their opponent before being instantly killed.
Minato and others focused their gazes on this man. His most noticeable feature was his long white hair—longer even than Mikoto Uchiha's and Kushina's, who both had long hair among the students.
He looked about in his early twenties. Though his appearance wasn't particularly handsome, there were two red markings drawn beneath each eye like streaks of paint.
He wore a chunin vest similar in style to those worn by Moto Kouda and others, but colored black instead of the standard Konoha colors.
The young man wore a somewhat flirtatious smile on his face. From the moment he arrived, his gaze had locked onto Kushina and Mikoto within the group of students, completely ignoring the instructors standing nearby.
Moto Kouda ran up excitedly toward him, eager to introduce him to everyone: "This honorable guest is..."
But the man ignored him entirely. Instead, he walked directly toward Mikoto and Kushina, wearing what he thought was a kind expression, and said, "Hey there, young ladies! I'm Jiraiya. What are your names?"
Startled by the question, Mikoto gave him a deep bow and nervously replied, "L-Lord Jiraiya, m-my name is Mikoto Uchiha."
Had another member of the Uchiha clan met Jiraiya, they probably wouldn't act this way. But Mikoto, from the prestigious Uchiha clan, had always been gentle by nature and never felt superior due to her noble background.
Now meeting such a high-status figure in the village, she actually seemed quite nervous.
"Heheh, so you're the prodigy girl from the Uchiha clan," Jiraiya smiled knowingly. As a senior member of Konoha, he naturally kept himself informed about major clans like the Uchiha.
Mikoto's talent was well-known—even among the powerful ranks of the Uchiha clan, she was gaining some recognition.
Receiving such praise from someone like Jiraiya, Mikoto couldn't help but feel secretly delighted.
"My, what an adorable young lady you are!" Jiraiya said warmly, then shifted his gaze toward Kushina and asked, "Missy, would you mind telling me your name too?"
Kushina folded her arms across her chest and pouted slightly, replying, "Who are you? Why should I tell you, weird old man?"
At her words, Moto Kouda and several others immediately broke into cold sweat...
Hearing that, Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched just a bit.
His reaction caused many students present to burst into laughter, though some tried hard to suppress it.
Even Minato couldn't help but smile a little.
Flirtatious and shallow—that's the first impression Jiraiya gave Minato.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Jiraiya took a few steps back with a sheepish smile. But this minor setback didn't really affect him much. During this time, his eyes casually swept across the crowd and landed briefly on Minato standing at the very back, whose expression had suddenly turned calm. His gaze lingered for a beat before he looked away.
Jiraiya straightened his posture and turned toward Moto Kouda and the others nearby. "I'm not exactly great with theories," he said. "So I'll just teach these kids based on my own understanding."
Moto Kouda and the others had no intention of objecting, though they did harbor some quiet concerns. Just how many of these naive freshmen could actually grasp techniques taught by someone at Jiraiya's level? And to what extent?
Looking at all those innocent young faces before him, Jiraiya couldn't help but recall that when he was their age, he had already become a ninja—while most of them were probably still at the stage of clinging affectionately to their parents. Things sure have changed.
He sighed slightly in his heart before speaking, "[The Three Basic Ninjutsu] every ninja must master."
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